Report on Abelard + a purr request for me

Abelard is definitely recovering and still gaining weight.

An hour or so ago I put out two cans of gooshy food for the clowder. That's
usually enough for all but Abelard, who doesn't get to eat as much as the
others when they all eat together because he politely backs off from any
challenge to his spot on the plate. So Aby gets a can to himself in the
bathroom, and after half an hour, I open the door and let whoever has been
waiting to finish off the leftovers go in and clean Aby's plate if it still
has food on it.

Well, today for the first time since before he got sick, Abelard let me know
in no uncertain terms that he was ready for his private portion by digging
around in a not-yet-unloaded shopping bag, obviously looking for another can
of food (which I promptly opened and dished out). As I carried him into the
bathroom I noticed how much heavier he feels. I bet he's up to around 8 lbs.
now!

But all is not rosy with this cat. When he was on antibiotics his poop was
runny, then I started giving probiotics and the runny poo gradually went
back to normal. You may be wondering, with eight other cats all using the
litterboxes, how do I know which poops came from Aby? That's easy: He
absolutely refuses to use a litterbox now. For any reason. He will go right
*next* to one, but not inside.

The same applies to his peeing, he will go on the tile floor near a
litterbox, but not *inside* of one - no way, no how! I've lost count of how
many times I've caught him starting to squat down low for a pee and picked
him up and moved him inside of a litterbox. Many times I've left him alone
in the bathroom with two, perfectly fresh, just-washed and refilled
litterboxes, and he went in just as he was squatting down and obviously
about to pee, and no matter how long I leave him in the room with the fresh
boxes, he will HOLD his pee until I let him out, then make a mess on the
utility room floor next to another box.

For a while he was even going on the carpet, and I got so tired of trying to
get the smell out that I decided instead to completely remove all carpeting
from the house (haven't been able to do it yet but am hoping to find a way
soon).

So I'm asking for purrs that what I find under the carpeting is a solid wood
floor in decent shape. And more purrs for Abelard to fall in love with kitty
litter.... and more yet, for finding a way to get my teeth fixed.

For almost a decade I've been putting off some needed repairs due to lack of
funds, then in May I had such a toothache that I called the local
poor-folks' clinic and got in there on an emergency basis and had the tooth
pulled. After that I got an appointment for an exam and cleaning, at which
time a treatment plan was prepared for me, and I made the decision to go
ahead with it, since their fees on a sliding-scale (according to income)
basis are considerably lower than at any regular dental clinic. Although I
don't have the cash for even the lowered fees, I do have a credit card and
could pay the balance off slowly.

So yesterday was the first restoration appointment, with a different dentist
than the one who did the exam, one who is fairly fresh out of dental school.
He gave a very easy-to-take numbing shot (a pleasant surprise) and started
getting ready to drill out the inlay that was to be replaced. But when he
had a good close look at the tooth, he told me he doesn't think he has
enough skill to do the job right.

I asked him if he could switch places with the other dentist for a while,
since at the time of the exam she had not seemed to have any reservations
about being able to handle it. He went to talk with her and came back with a
phone number for me to call their parent clinic about an hour away where
they have a specialist the other dentist wants me to use instead, and sent
me home.

Today I found out that the other clinic isn't accepting any new adult
patients. I am left with serious dental problems and no affordable way to
resolve them.

Pat wrote:

Well, today for the first time since before he got sick, Abelard let me know
in no uncertain terms that he was ready for his private portion by digging
around in a not-yet-unloaded shopping bag, obviously looking for another can
of food (which I promptly opened and dished out). As I carried him into the
bathroom I noticed how much heavier he feels. I bet he's up to around 8 lbs.
now!

That's great! Sounds like he's almost back to normal.

But all is not rosy with this cat. When he was on antibiotics his poop was
runny, then I started giving probiotics and the runny poo gradually went
back to normal. You may be wondering, with eight other cats all using the
litterboxes, how do I know which poops came from Aby? That's easy: He
absolutely refuses to use a litterbox now. For any reason. He will go right
*next* to one, but not inside.

Has he always done this, or is this a new behavior since his infection?
If he's always done it, he might be intimidated by the other cats. That's
certainly the case around food, so maybe he's "low cat" in your household.
I wish I knew what you could do about that - I would suggest another
litterbox, but (1) it sounds like you already have a number of them, and
(2) you couldn't prevent the other cats from taking the new one over,
either.

So yesterday was the first restoration appointment, with a different dentist
than the one who did the exam, one who is fairly fresh out of dental school.
He gave a very easy-to-take numbing shot (a pleasant surprise) and started
getting ready to drill out the inlay that was to be replaced. But when he
had a good close look at the tooth, he told me he doesn't think he has
enough skill to do the job right.

I asked him if he could switch places with the other dentist for a while,
since at the time of the exam she had not seemed to have any reservations
about being able to handle it. He went to talk with her and came back with a
phone number for me to call their parent clinic about an hour away where
they have a specialist the other dentist wants me to use instead, and sent
me home.

Today I found out that the other clinic isn't accepting any new adult
patients. I am left with serious dental problems and no affordable way to
resolve them.

Could you go back to the clinic you were at before and ask to be seen
by the woman who seemed more confident? If they have someone at that
clinic who could do the job, why did they refer you elsewhere? Maybe
she's not quite as good as the specialist, but she's better than nobody.

Also, it would be good to let them know the status of the parent clinic
(ie, not taking patients). They probably should have known this already,
if they're referring people there, but I know that clinics operating on
a shoestring probably don't have the wherewithal to keep track of such
things.

Good luck and purrs,

--
Joyce ^..^

(To email me, remove the X's from my user name.)

wrote

| Pat wrote:
| But all is not rosy with this cat. When he was on antibiotics his poop
was
| runny, then I started giving probiotics and the runny poo gradually went
| back to normal. You may be wondering, with eight other cats all using
the
| litterboxes, how do I know which poops came from Aby? That's easy: He
| absolutely refuses to use a litterbox now. For any reason. He will go
right
| *next* to one, but not inside.
|
| Has he always done this, or is this a new behavior since his infection?
| If he's always done it, he might be intimidated by the other cats. That's
| certainly the case around food, so maybe he's "low cat" in your household.

He's had *occasional* incidents of peeing on the floor throughout his life,
but they were few and far between. He's *never* pooped outside the box until
recently. He was using a box to poop *after* he got sick and right up to a
couple weeks ago, and peeing on the floor more often than before but not
*exclusively* on the floor, as he is now.

| I wish I knew what you could do about that - I would suggest another
| litterbox, but (1) it sounds like you already have a number of them, and
| (2) you couldn't prevent the other cats from taking the new one over,
| either.

I have 7 large boxes, 3 of which are in the bathroom, the rest in the
utility room. All the boxes get scooped out twice a day and the litter is
replaced whenever a box starts getting funky. That usually works out to
about two boxes a week being totally changed.

| So yesterday was the first restoration appointment, with a different
dentist
| than the one who did the exam, one who is fairly fresh out of dental
school.
| He gave a very easy-to-take numbing shot (a pleasant surprise) and
started
| getting ready to drill out the inlay that was to be replaced. But when
he
| had a good close look at the tooth, he told me he doesn't think he has
| enough skill to do the job right.
|
| I asked him if he could switch places with the other dentist for a
while,
| since at the time of the exam she had not seemed to have any
reservations
| about being able to handle it. He went to talk with her and came back
with a
| phone number for me to call their parent clinic about an hour away where
| they have a specialist the other dentist wants me to use instead, and
sent
| me home.
|
| Today I found out that the other clinic isn't accepting any new adult
| patients. I am left with serious dental problems and no affordable way
to
| resolve them.
|
| Could you go back to the clinic you were at before and ask to be seen
| by the woman who seemed more confident? If they have someone at that
| clinic who could do the job, why did they refer you elsewhere? Maybe
| she's not quite as good as the specialist, but she's better than nobody.

I spoke with that dentist today after hearing from the other clinic. She was
adamant that I needed to be seen somewhere else, that this clinic would be
unable to meet my needs. I believe her.

| Also, it would be good to let them know the status of the parent clinic
| (ie, not taking patients). They probably should have known this already,
| if they're referring people there, but I know that clinics operating on
| a shoestring probably don't have the wherewithal to keep track of such
| things.

I did let them know. In fact that's the reason I called them back and talked
with the referring dentist. I'm SOL.

Purrs are on the way. Could you try one box with a different kind of
litter, to see if that makes a difference?

--

Joy

No amount of time can erase the memory of a good cat, and no amount of
masking tape can ever totally remove his fur from your couch. - Leo Dworken

"Pat" wrote in message
et...
Abelard is definitely recovering and still gaining weight.

An hour or so ago I put out two cans of gooshy food for the clowder.
That's
usually enough for all but Abelard, who doesn't get to eat as much as the
others when they all eat together because he politely backs off from any
challenge to his spot on the plate. So Aby gets a can to himself in the
bathroom, and after half an hour, I open the door and let whoever has been
waiting to finish off the leftovers go in and clean Aby's plate if it
still
has food on it.

Well, today for the first time since before he got sick, Abelard let me
know
in no uncertain terms that he was ready for his private portion by digging
around in a not-yet-unloaded shopping bag, obviously looking for another
can
of food (which I promptly opened and dished out). As I carried him into
the
bathroom I noticed how much heavier he feels. I bet he's up to around 8
lbs.
now!

But all is not rosy with this cat. When he was on antibiotics his poop was
runny, then I started giving probiotics and the runny poo gradually went
back to normal. You may be wondering, with eight other cats all using the
litterboxes, how do I know which poops came from Aby? That's easy: He
absolutely refuses to use a litterbox now. For any reason. He will go
right
*next* to one, but not inside.

The same applies to his peeing, he will go on the tile floor near a
litterbox, but not *inside* of one - no way, no how! I've lost count of
how
many times I've caught him starting to squat down low for a pee and picked
him up and moved him inside of a litterbox. Many times I've left him alone
in the bathroom with two, perfectly fresh, just-washed and refilled
litterboxes, and he went in just as he was squatting down and obviously
about to pee, and no matter how long I leave him in the room with the
fresh
boxes, he will HOLD his pee until I let him out, then make a mess on the
utility room floor next to another box.

For a while he was even going on the carpet, and I got so tired of trying
to
get the smell out that I decided instead to completely remove all
carpeting
from the house (haven't been able to do it yet but am hoping to find a way
soon).

So I'm asking for purrs that what I find under the carpeting is a solid
wood
floor in decent shape. And more purrs for Abelard to fall in love with
kitty
litter.... and more yet, for finding a way to get my teeth fixed.

For almost a decade I've been putting off some needed repairs due to lack
of
funds, then in May I had such a toothache that I called the local
poor-folks' clinic and got in there on an emergency basis and had the
tooth
pulled. After that I got an appointment for an exam and cleaning, at which
time a treatment plan was prepared for me, and I made the decision to go
ahead with it, since their fees on a sliding-scale (according to income)
basis are considerably lower than at any regular dental clinic. Although I
don't have the cash for even the lowered fees, I do have a credit card and
could pay the balance off slowly.

So yesterday was the first restoration appointment, with a different
dentist
than the one who did the exam, one who is fairly fresh out of dental
school.
He gave a very easy-to-take numbing shot (a pleasant surprise) and started
getting ready to drill out the inlay that was to be replaced. But when he
had a good close look at the tooth, he told me he doesn't think he has
enough skill to do the job right.

I asked him if he could switch places with the other dentist for a while,
since at the time of the exam she had not seemed to have any reservations
about being able to handle it. He went to talk with her and came back with
a
phone number for me to call their parent clinic about an hour away where
they have a specialist the other dentist wants me to use instead, and sent
me home.

Today I found out that the other clinic isn't accepting any new adult
patients. I am left with serious dental problems and no affordable way to
resolve them.

"Joy" wrote

| Purrs are on the way. Could you try one box with a different kind of
| litter, to see if that makes a difference?
|
There are different types of boxes available here now: some with Feline
Pine, some with Fresh Results (corncob litter), some with sWheat Scoop. A
few of the non-Feline Pine boxes have some clumping clay litter mixed in.
One is almost all clay. One of the Feline Pine boxes has pine shavings mixed
in. I wouldn't know what else to try, unless that litter Joyce was raving
about turns out to be available in my area and is different enough from what
I already use.

Pat wrote:
Abelard is definitely recovering and still gaining weight.

Excellent!

Today I found out that the other clinic isn't accepting any new adult
patients. I am left with serious dental problems and no affordable way to
resolve them.

Lots of purrs.

--
Victor M. Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam he
Email me he

Pat wrote:
Abelard is definitely recovering and still gaining weight.
snip
Today I found out that the other clinic isn't accepting any new adult
patients. I am left with serious dental problems and no affordable
way to resolve them.

Good news about Ablelard, purrs that he continues to improve. Purrs that you
find some solution to your dental problems. It is bad enough in the UK
trying to find a dentist, it sounds as if it's even worse there,
particularly if you have limited funds.
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy, Bagheera & Shadow)
Cats leave pawprints on your heart
http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk

Purrs and prayers that Abelard starts using
the litter box again pronto! And that your
dental problems get resolved.

Lily & her mama

"Pat" wrote in message
et...
Abelard is definitely recovering and still gaining weight.

An hour or so ago I put out two cans of gooshy food for the clowder.
That's
usually enough for all but Abelard, who doesn't get to eat as much as the
others when they all eat together because he politely backs off from any
challenge to his spot on the plate. So Aby gets a can to himself in the
bathroom, and after half an hour, I open the door and let whoever has been
waiting to finish off the leftovers go in and clean Aby's plate if it
still
has food on it.

Well, today for the first time since before he got sick, Abelard let me
know
in no uncertain terms that he was ready for his private portion by digging
around in a not-yet-unloaded shopping bag, obviously looking for another
can
of food (which I promptly opened and dished out). As I carried him into
the
bathroom I noticed how much heavier he feels. I bet he's up to around 8
lbs.
now!

But all is not rosy with this cat. When he was on antibiotics his poop was
runny, then I started giving probiotics and the runny poo gradually went
back to normal. You may be wondering, with eight other cats all using the
litterboxes, how do I know which poops came from Aby? That's easy: He
absolutely refuses to use a litterbox now. For any reason. He will go
right
*next* to one, but not inside.

The same applies to his peeing, he will go on the tile floor near a
litterbox, but not *inside* of one - no way, no how! I've lost count of
how
many times I've caught him starting to squat down low for a pee and picked
him up and moved him inside of a litterbox. Many times I've left him alone
in the bathroom with two, perfectly fresh, just-washed and refilled
litterboxes, and he went in just as he was squatting down and obviously
about to pee, and no matter how long I leave him in the room with the
fresh
boxes, he will HOLD his pee until I let him out, then make a mess on the
utility room floor next to another box.

For a while he was even going on the carpet, and I got so tired of trying
to
get the smell out that I decided instead to completely remove all
carpeting
from the house (haven't been able to do it yet but am hoping to find a way
soon).

So I'm asking for purrs that what I find under the carpeting is a solid
wood
floor in decent shape. And more purrs for Abelard to fall in love with
kitty
litter.... and more yet, for finding a way to get my teeth fixed.

For almost a decade I've been putting off some needed repairs due to lack
of
funds, then in May I had such a toothache that I called the local
poor-folks' clinic and got in there on an emergency basis and had the
tooth
pulled. After that I got an appointment for an exam and cleaning, at which
time a treatment plan was prepared for me, and I made the decision to go
ahead with it, since their fees on a sliding-scale (according to income)
basis are considerably lower than at any regular dental clinic. Although I
don't have the cash for even the lowered fees, I do have a credit card and
could pay the balance off slowly.

So yesterday was the first restoration appointment, with a different
dentist
than the one who did the exam, one who is fairly fresh out of dental
school.
He gave a very easy-to-take numbing shot (a pleasant surprise) and started
getting ready to drill out the inlay that was to be replaced. But when he
had a good close look at the tooth, he told me he doesn't think he has
enough skill to do the job right.

I asked him if he could switch places with the other dentist for a while,
since at the time of the exam she had not seemed to have any reservations
about being able to handle it. He went to talk with her and came back with
a
phone number for me to call their parent clinic about an hour away where
they have a specialist the other dentist wants me to use instead, and sent
me home.

Today I found out that the other clinic isn't accepting any new adult
patients. I am left with serious dental problems and no affordable way to
resolve them.




--
Irulan
from the stars we come
to the stars we return
from now until the end of time.

Excellent (mostly) news about Abelard. But we will be purring for
something to change so he starts using the box again, and for soemthing
positive to happen with regard to your teeth.

Dan

I'm so glad to hear that Abelard is feeling good and putting weight
back on. Purrs that he will soon see the wisdom of using the
litterbox again. It is frequently hard to tell why they just stop
using the box.

Purrs too for your dental problems. If that dentist doesn't think
they can help you at the clinic and she referred you, then
she should either be able to call the office that she referred you
to and get you in as a patient, or she should be able to refer you
to someplace that can take you as a patient. Did you tell her
that they are not accepting new patients right now? Hopes that
it works out for you.

Debbie